“Damn! It’s raining,” A woman cried, running toward the flames. “Wizard and fighters back away!” With each step, sparks of fire ignited beneath the woman’s feet.

“Where are you going?” A wizard shouted, pointing his staff at the woman, “You will burn to ash!”

Tap! A man tapped the wizard’s shoulder. Running after the woman with a smile, “Stand back, bookworm!” The man lunged, his eyes glowing with a blue light.

Wizards learn magic by controlling mana, their power limited by its expected application and ranges. That makes them extremely inefficient when dealing with wild magic. It’s the same as a dog trainer being able to train dogs but not wild wolves. They are a different breed.

Thud! The woman lunged into the flames, her clothes catching on fire instantly.

“GWAAAAAAA!” The woman’s screams filled the sky for a second before they turned into giggles, “Hahahahahahahaha!” Her laughter shook the crowds as her skin blazed in crimson flame.

“Flames! Bow!” With a swing of her arm, the blue flame parted, cutting a way for herself.

“Fire Elemental sorcerers?” The wizard gasped.

CRACK! The other man swung his arm, conjuring a wall of ice in the flames, “This is our playground!”

Sorcerers, the caster class attuned to their bloodline. They draw most of their power from their own blood, granting them resistance akin to monsters. Something that wizards can’t achieve with mere study.

On top of that, their casting method is extremely different. While wizards study mana and its properties, trying to find ways to mold it to their whips. Sorcerers just force it to change by sheer will.

They swung their hands, and the primordial magic flowing through their veins ignited the mana around them like a candle thrown into flames. They are to wizards the same way barbarians are to fighters, no technique, just raw power.

Every sorcerer worth his salt jumped into the forest, flinging every drop of magic they had. The forest is already unsavable, so better bury it.

The flame wouldn’t spread if it burned fast enough to eat all the trees and fade away.

“You’re reckless!” A wizard shouted as he saw tens of sorcerers jump into action without a care in the world.

“Fuck it! It’s not like we can do better!” A soldier shouted, “Do what you can!”

CRACKLE! In a lightning bolt, a half-elf woman flew across the flames. Lightning flashed from her hair and lunged at the trees, charring them to ask in the blink of an eye.

“Burn it to ash so the fire won’t find anything to burn!” She shouted with a smile on her face, lunging from one tree to the other.

The sorcerers’ plan seemed to work, only ash remained after them and the flames started getting weaker. .

“Keep pushing! We’re winning!” A man shouted, fire gushing out of his hair and eyes.

****

The blue light reflected in Arad’s eyes, seeing the fire reach the clouds. “It got bigger!” He glared down, seeing the flames expanding at an even faster rate.

^I shouldn’t have dropped water on it,^ Flapping his wings, Arad flew down. Void Step

****

As one of the adventurers ran as fast as he could between the forest, he felt a tingle on his back. ^Magic? Heavy,^ He couldn’t breathe, feeling as if a wall fell on his head.

CLAP! Arad appeared midair, landing on his legs ahead of the adventurer.

Time seemed to slow for the sorcerer as his body struggled to keep his magic stable. ^That oppressive magic, it’s from him,^

He could see Arad lifting his hand, and fear rapidly filled his head. Images of Arad fighting the white dragon outside of the city flashed in his head. ^It’s the same, that black thing is coming,^

The adventurer’s body turned, trying to run on its own.

Void Expansion: Airless

The adventurer saw the road ahead of him get consumed in darkness, a sharp pain surging across his whole body as his veins boiled.

SWOSH! Light came back as Arad’s void expansion disappeared just a fraction of a second before it was activated. It only remained active till the flames were starved from Oxygin.

Blugh! The adventurer puked blood, his skin red as blood almost escaped his body into the void. He turned toward Arad, his vision all red, “Monster!” he gasped before falling on his face, unconscious.

****

Arad sighed in relief as the flames disappeared, ^At least we’re done there,^ He turned toward the adventurer. “Sorry,” He lifted the adventurer, seeing the guild card he hung on his neck. B-rank: Alfonce Robani

Arad closed his eyes and tried to sense all the adventurers around him. ^Fourty two adventurers were caught in my void expansion. Thirty-six of them passed out like this one while the other five were trying to figure out what happened.^

Void Step Arad teleported outside the forest to the soldier’s camp and dropped the adventurer, “There are thirty-five others in the same condition. They were caught in my magic. Get ready with healers.”

The soldiers had already guessed Arad was in the forest when they saw the massive black orb appear. Some of them already had considered sending a letter to the guild or the castle asking for his help.

“We already have healers at the ready, put him on the ground, and we’ll take care of the rest,” A soldier shouted. He rushed to call the healers.

By the time the soldier returned with the healers, Arad had already fished all of the injured adventurers and lined them on the ground.

“Are those all of them?” The soldier started counting as the healer began casting spells.

“There are still five in the forest, but those can still move on their own,” Arad replied, getting ready to teleport away.

“There were only five A-rank adventurers present here. It must be them.” The soldier said with a worried voice.

The gap of strength between A-rank and B-rank is huge. It’s the gap between the high-end adventurers and normal ones. Simply put, you can’t be an A-rank without being special, and even more to be an S-rank.

“I see. I will bring them back as soon as possible.” Arad replied.

“If it was your magic that hit them, they could attack you. Be careful.” The soldier cried as Arad teleported away.